Brown Pelican
On the previous page I provided a criteria that I think states should meet for choosing a state bird: the bird is native to the state, not found in many states, not already taken by another state, and represents some aspect of the state.
Based on this criteria, the choice by Louisiana of the Brown Pelican (first stamp here) as it’s state bird is pretty good in that it’s native to the Louisiana and found only in a few neighboring states along their shared coast. Plus, no other state has chosen the Brown Pelican. There was a time when there were almost none of them in the state, but thanks for conservation efforts, they have returned in large numbers.
Massachusetts and Maine chose the Black Capped Chickadee (first row, second and fourth stamps), which is native to both states – and about half of the rest of the states. I like this particular bird, so it would be fine if only one state would choose it. Maine chose it in 1927 and Massachusetts in 1941. So Massachusetts should choose a different bird.
The Common Loon is found all over the U.S., but only Minnesota chose it as their state bird (second row, second stamp). It’s an ancient and majestic bird that’s found on lakes. With over 12,000 lakes in Minnesota, it’s a good choice for them.
New Mexico chose the Roadrunner, which can be found in all of the southwestern states. However, they’re the only state that chose this bird and it’s best known for being found in arid terrain, of which New Mexico has plenty. So it’s an acceptable choice.
Note
Although I didn’t write about the state flowers on each stamp in this set, I do like that they were included. I like the art work overall, but I like how for some they perched the bird on the plant. It’s a nice touch.
Contains 17 spots: own 17 – 17 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed May 22, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
Birds of North America
✓ |
1970 |
Brown Pelican, La. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1971 |
Black-Capped Chickadee, Me. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1972 |
Baltimore Oriole, Md. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1973 |
Black-Capped Chickadee, Mass. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1974 |
Robin, Mich. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1975 |
Common Loon, Minn. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1976 |
Mockingbird, Miss. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1977 |
Eastern Bluebird, Mo. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1978 |
Western Meadowlark, Mt. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1979 |
Western Meadowlark, Neb. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1980 |
Mountain Bluebird, Nev. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1981 |
Purple Finch, N.H. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1982 |
American Goldfinch, N.J. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1983 |
Greater Roadrunner, N.M. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1984 |
Eastern Bluebird, N.Y. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1985 |
Cardinal, N.C. |
20c (apr 1982) |
||
✓ |
1986 |
Western Meadowlark, N.D. |
20c (apr 1982) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
